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In August 2025, we hailed the emergence of a second Chain Story project championed by Michael A. Stackpole. This is a Sword & Sorcery-focused, contagious set of connected (“chained”) stories.

Each is:

• A standalone tale
• Readable in any order
• Free to read!
• Interconnected via a theme involving a Crown

We round up groups every several weeks, but check the Chain Story website. for the latest. Here we highlight the latest set of five, Episodes 19-23:

• 19 Of Crowns & Consequences  by Jason M. Waltz
• 20 The Hunt For Violet Shatterwing by Bryan Young
• 21 Into The Badlands by Alina Lee
• 22  Abhartach’s Castle by Aaron Canton
• 23   A Feast For Pan by James D. Mills

Previous Black Gate posts have chronicled groups of the growing chain:

• The Chain Story 2 – Sword and Sorcery – Episodes 1 – 3 (Aug 2025)
• The Chain Story 2 – Sword and Sorcery – Episodes 4 – 8  (Oct 2025)
• The Chain Story 2 – Sword and Sorcery – Episodes 9 – 13 (Nov 2025)
• The Chain Story 2 — Sword & Sorcery – Episodes 14 – 18 (Feb 2026)

 

Entry Chain Post (Link on Chain site) Story (Link to Free version) Author Abstract 23 March 25, 2026 A Feast For Pan James D. Mills IN THE WASTES, ALL ARE FODDER FOR PAN. In a return to the world of SOIL and Ashen Rider, Hromgir and Arvid of Clan Sparrow are on the run after a raid gone wrong. Braving the frozen wastes of the northern coast, they must reach the mountain pass to escape the Wystran riders close on their heels. Hiding from the riders, they take shelter in the depths of a strange cave, unearthing otherworldly horrors better left buried…. 22 March 11, 2026 Abhartach’s Castle Aaron Canton A trio of student witches head off on a dangerous adventure to obtain a powerful artifact—aiming to retrieve it and keep it out of the hands of sinister forces.
Unexpectedly they meet opposition in the form of a classmate they’d once all considered a friend, but who has become a most dangerous foe. 21 February 25, 2026 Into The Badlands Alina Lee Rowan Grim’s world is one which is long on places you don’t want to travel to, and few people return from. But what is out there draws her, and she willingly embraces the challenges which have devoured so many others. 20 February 9, 2026 The Hunt For Violet Shatterwing Bryan Young Now returned to Nightfall Forest, and in the company of the fox bard Ashley, Pip finds the hamlet of Riveroak ablaze. The mouse knight, his war cat, and companion race to quench the fires and hunt the leader of the crow cult, intent on putting an end to her evil. 19 January 28, 2026 Of Crowns & Consequences Jason M. Waltz Direk, wielder of the magickal sword Retribution, has been dispatched to destroy an old enemy at the behest of his King. In his pursuit he encounters a newly awakened power which challenges his knowledge of the world, and threatens to up end all he knows to be true. 18 January 19, 2026 The Sapphire and the Sorceress Bryan Young As with all good heroes, Pip does not shrink from danger and adventure. Still, there are times when it would be good to relax at home. But Pip is far from home, and is searching for a powerful sorceress who can help him on his way. 17 January 14, 2026 Terror Above Icehenge Malcolm T. North To reach her, however, he’ll have to venture through the Chaos Realm and, as every true hero knows if you undertake that journey lightly, it will end quickly. But Pip has no choice, and therein our adventure begins. 16 December 31, 2025 Demonfire: A Tale of Shintaro Oba  C. L. Werner A forbidden ritual conducted in secret, bathed in blood and death enables a demon to grasp unimaginable power—the power to destroy all enemies and raise himself above all others. 15 December 24, 2025 In The Land of the Giants, Bryan Young A Samurai, whose duty calls for him to hunt down such a creature. A destiny he must pursue even as the world burns around him. 14 December 10, 2025 Blight Katherine Monasterio Forest Ranger Hazel Boncliff is a Green Speaker, a person with the magical ability to commune with plants. When the king summons Hazel and her assistant to the capital to heal the strange blight affecting his hunting grounds, she’s reluctant to help—least of all because he’s insisting his inexperienced secretary go along for the journey. But with a reward she can’t refuse and the blight’s effects more harrowing by the moment, she’ll take all the help she can get. 13 November 26, 2025 Ice Hawk’s Aerie, Bryan Young A chance meeting in the dark forest. A tale of woe and injustice.
Pip Strongpaw, the last of the fabled Great Catriders, must once again wield the runed-sword Feathersbane, to end the chilling menace threatening to destroy the hamlet of Riveroak. A menace of sorcerous origins against which even the bravest of heroes may not prevail. 12 November 12, 2025 Blood for the River Michael Stackpole Chased into a swamp by homicidal cultists, Kellach and Serinna encounter a fire mage who saves their lives, and then leads them on an adventure that is sure to get them killed. 11 October 14, 2025 Of Nightmares & Jewels Robert Greenberger Something drew the mage onward, always toward the northwest, through restless evenings and dark dreams of ill portent. Yet when Jareth’s traveling companion, the swordswoman Talin, asks him why, he has no idea.
And then they reached a tiny town at the edge of nowhere, wherein lurked an evil with roots sunk deep in times beyond remembering; an evil that has chosen their visit as a time to awaken. 10 October 14, 2025 The Cursed Cuff Aaron Rosenberg She came to them spinning a tale of woe. An army of undead lay siege to the Manor she called home. She had barely escaped and sough adventurers brave enough to free her people.
But to do that Birr Blackjaw and his companions would have to wrest an ancient artifact from the hands of a cult leader who had his own army, and a hellish pet none could hope to defeat. 9 October 1, 2025 The Monastery Plot Bryan Young Shield Maiden and legendary sleuth Sister Agatha, accompanied by her faithful initiate, Brother Dominguez, sought to enjoy peace and quiet at  the Monastery of St. Maryam.Despite their desires, they soon find themselves investigating twin murders. Murders which become all that much more bizarre when the name Tarru-Syn turns up, and their search leads them into the very bowels of the earth, to face a foe from beyond their reality. 8 September 24, 2025 On Memories Michael Stackpole Dancillius Hrekt is fairly new to the world of Monster Fighting. All he wants to do is to make a good impression with his peers.  And all they want is for  him and his best friend to die. 7 September 10, 2025 The Village of Morvoss Thomas Grayfson In this new Kavion adventure, our tormented knight clings to the last threads of family and sanity as he navigates the mysterious Village of Morvoss. Haunted by fractured memories, he must confront the darkness around him—and within. 6 August 27, 2025 Fragment of a Sorcerous Crown Joan Marie Verba In this tale from the Chronicles of the Library of Sorcery, the sorcerers investigate a dangerous magical artifact of mysterious origin. Can the sorcerers uncover the truth?Sorcerer Serena is called to investigate an enormous, carnivorous plant. She finds that a mysterious magical artifact is behind the phenomenon. To find out where the artifact came from and what its properties might be, she consults the Library of Sorcery, where she uncovers the answers, but not on the Library shelves. Can the artifact be banished from the sorcerous regions before it becomes a more deathly threat? 5 August 13, 2025 Grave’s Brood S.E. Lindberg Doktor Grave sends Brood to recover a crown from the Red Orchard, only for Brood to find it is the source of a bloody plague caused by Grave’s experiments. Facing vampiric plants and their loyal clan, Brood must confront his past and question whether he can trust Grave or escape the nightmare himself. 4 July 28, 2025 Shard of Song Rigel Ailur Two wizards search desperately for a way to stave off a vicious magical-musical attack before the dragons succumb.  A powerful relic ancient beyond memory calls to them, but do they dare use it? 3 July 16, 2025 Forest of the Fallen Colossus Bryan Young A dying robber hands Laila and Zaki a mysterious artifact in the middle of a fae-haunted wood. “Danger,” the robber manages before dying. Suddenly sister and brother find themselves safeguarding an unwanted gift—on the run for their lives in the Forest of the Fallen Colossus. 2 July 3, 2025 Death Grip Michael Stackpole The man hadn’t died easily.A smoking hole sat where his heart should have been. Terror twisted his features, and he clutched an emerald reeking of magick as if would somehow save him. Neryon and Magistrate-Martial Logan find themselves in a race to find the killer before he has a chance to harvest more victims. But, with the amount of power used on his first target, there was a big gulf between finding and stopping; and no guarantee he wouldn’t kill them, too. 1 July 3, 2025 Blade of the Storm Witch Robert E. Vardeman Her vengeance became elemental! The Conqueror-King’s minion murdered her pirate husband.  The Lady Rennata was condemned to follow him into a watery grave—until wind and wave swept her to a magical blade that commands all of Nature.

 

S.E. Lindberg is a Managing Editor at Black Gate, regularly reviewing books and interviewing authors on the topic of “Beauty & Art in Weird-Fantasy Fiction.” He has taken lead roles organizing the Gen Con Writers’ Symposium (chairing it in 2023), is the lead moderator of the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery Group, and was an intern for Tales from the Magician’s Skull magazine. As for crafting stories, he has contributed eight entries across Perseid Press’s Heroes in Hell and Heroika series, and has an entry in Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies. He independently publishes novels under the banner Dyscrasia Fiction; short stories of Dyscrasia Fiction have appeared in Whetstone Amateur S&S Magazine, Swords & Sorcery online magazine, Rogues In the House Podcast’s A Book of Blades Vol I & II, DMR’s Terra Incognita, the 9th issue of Tales From the Magician’s Skull, Savage Realms Magazine, and Michael Stackpole’s S&S Chain Story 2 Project. 

Wait.. Doesn’t Stephen wear most of his sigls as rings?

LitStack Spots by Maggie O’Farrell We’ve also spotted these titles by Maggie O’Farrell that we…

The post Spotlight on “Land” by Maggie O’Farrell appeared first on LitStack.

 

Buy The Last Contract of Isako
FORMAT/INFO: The Last Contract of Isako was published on May 5th, 2026. It is available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: When Isako's boss unexpectedly retires, she knows she's at the end of her career. Afterall, what is a longkniveswoman without a contract? But an expected offer comes in from a rival executive for one last job - one that will allow her to retire on her own terms. The contract: successfully find dirt on one of the most powerful executives at the Company and stop him from joining the Board of Directors. But as soon as Isako starts poking around, she starts finding a bigger conspiracy than she anticipated - and all roads lead back to Martim, the last person Isako ever took on as an apprentice.

The Last Contract of Isako is an atmospheric mystery set in a bleak, harsh world that offers little comfort to the reader or those who live in it. By far the highlight of this story is the world-building. The author has created a pressure cooker of a city, where everyone's value is determined by whether or not they're deemed useful to society. Every element of this world boils down to the fact that it is a resource scarce colony. If you aren't contributing to the colony's survival, then you're a drain on resources. But of course, the people who determine what is useful are the elite who will almost never have to face the consequences of the society they've created. And like the frog in the slowly boiling water, the rest of society doesn't realize it's already cooked.

I've found myself calling this a cybernoir book. There's elements of cyberpunk, with one giant corporation controlling everyone's lives, technology integrated into bodies, and a big disparity between the haves and the have nots. That melds nicely with the noir aspects, where the world is hugely weighted against you unless you have stacked the deck yourself and solving a mystery doesn't necessarily mean justice is achieved.

Enter Isako, a woman in her fifties who has been working in corporate life for decades. Her job is something of a cross between a consigliere and a bodyguard; she helps plan her boss's corporate strategy and she also defends his life. Isako understands she's a cog in a system; she has a role to play and she does it well, even if it means sometimes doing terrible things. Her life is dedicated to serving her Principal, and that means following their orders. But now, faced with the end of her career, Isako is also facing that big existential question: in the grand scheme of things, what did her work and her life mean? What legacy will she leave behind?

I understand some of the misgivings of people looking for the next GREEN BONE SAGA. I've seen a few comments that people missed having a sprawling cast of complex characters. But bear in mind this isn't a grand sweeping trilogy with 1500 pages at its disposal. This is a standalone (if still a hefty one) that is getting through a complex story. There's only time to build out a few characters with true depth. You'll get to know a few people really well, and some you'll only see the surface of, but that doesn't detract from the overall story.

I will admit, there were times when I wasn't sure how I was going to ultimately feel about this book. It is broken into three parts, and after spending the first half of the book getting to know and root for Isako, it's jarring to switch to following a different character. But after Isako uncovers the what of the mystery, this new character perspective offers the WHY of the mystery, and that's the thread that ties everything together. It's what makes the finale really land when the last chunk of the book switches to resolving the conspiracy that's been exposed.

As a result, the ending is a quiet gut punch. Jade Legacy may have left me a bawling mess, but The Last Contract of Isako had me just staring into middle distance, unpacking everything that happened in the last 50 pages and what that meant for the characters. It's an ending that somehow manages to be both tragic and hopeful and not at all where I thought things would end when I started the journey.

The Last Contract of Isako is not here to fill you with sunshine and it's not quite here to stomp on your heart. Instead it leads you through a world that is completely unbalanced, slowly filling you with existential dread. Surely society can't be this uneven, surely there's a way out. Surely a life will have meaning when all is said and done. But if you're looking for those reassurances, The Last Contract of Isako is not here to offer them.

 

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Series: Book 7 of Dungeon Crawler Carl

Publisher: Ace (September 23, 2025)

Length: 870 pages

Author Information: Website

I can’t believe I almost let this slip by, but I just realized I never actually wrote my review for This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman, and now the next book is basically upon us. Naturally, I had to do a quick refresh, which in this case is doing a reread but with the audiobook this time, and honestly, this is one of those rare occasions where I genuinely can’t decide which format is better. I mean, I almost never recommend audio over print, but Jeff Hays’ performance on this series is just that good. You really can’t go wrong with either pick, but if you’re still on the fence about starting your Dungeon Crawler Carl journey, the audio route is a fine choice.

This seventh installment finally brings us to the long-teased Faction Wars on the ninth floor, an event that has been looming over the series for a while now. It’s an epic showdown whose set up has been in the works since the first book, involving multiple factions, each backed by powerful off-world participants, all thrown into a massive battlefield with one primary objective: be the last one standing.

But of course, thanks to Carl, Donut, and their allies, things are more complicated this time around. As always, crawlers are active participants in this deadly game, but now the NPCs also have their own team, becoming a force to be reckoned with. The usual rules are shifting as well, with protections being stripped away, making permadeath a thing, essentially leveling the playing field. The stakes have never been higher as the different factions go to war and the death toll begins to rise. The closer Carl gets to leading his fellow crawlers to victory, however, the more dangerous the road there becomes. Every win comes with a cost, and despite it all, losing is not an option.

As much as I enjoyed finally seeing the Faction Wars play out, I have to say this was also the point where the sheer size and scope of the book started to work against it a little. While the last few volumes have also been on the longer side, in general they still felt on track and manageable. This Inevitable Ruin, on the other hand, had so much going on, the sheer scale of everything happening made it harder to stay consistently focused. To start, there are a lot of factions to deal with. By design, that means we end up working through clash after clash as we watch Carl and his crawler faction push forward. It’s exciting in bursts, but it also stretches things out, making them feel disjointed. There were definitely moments where it felt like the story was spinning its wheels between major developments, not to mention the fatigue.

That said, I still enjoyed the hell out of this book. Even though the narrative is sprawling in every direction, we’re jumping between battles and checking in on different characters, the overall story still being mindful of tying up lingering plotlines and loose threads. I loved catching up with everybody. The humor is as sharp and ridiculous as ever. The action hits hard, but there are also those powerful emotional moments that hit even harder. These are characters I’ve followed for a long time, and there’s a growing sense that, as intense as things have already gotten, we’re still building toward something even bigger. And you have to give this series credit. Even when it gets messy, it’s never boring.

In the end, This Inevitable Ruin comes in at a lower rating compared to the previous books, but just by a smidgen, and mostly due to the sense that the story is straining a bit under the weight of the massive beast it’s grown into. I still had a great time, and if anything, it’s only made me more excited for what’s coming next. At this point, I am fully locked in and have gone full Dungeon Crawler Carl fan mode, backing the tabletop RPG campaign, buying Mongo shirts, and feeling absolutely ready to jump back in with book 8, A Parade of Horribles.

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book 1)
Review of Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (Book 2)
Review of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (Book 3)
Review of The Gate of the Feral Gods (Book 4)
Review of The Butcher’s Masquerade (Book 5)
Review of The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Book 6)

Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman Volume 1, collecting issues 1 – 6 (Action Lab Entertainment, August 2, 2016)

Dipping back into the Sword & Planet genre for the day, here’s one of the odder items I have. Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman, subtitled as “The Galaxy’s Greatest Action-Adventure Hero.” As far as I can tell, Josh Henaman is the writer, with Andy Taylor (Penciller), Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), and Adam Wollet (Letterer).

This is a graphic novel collecting the first six issues of the story. I bought this because it was billed as sword & planet set on Mars, and featuring Bigfoot. It mostly was, although not quite what I was hoping it might be.

Issues 1-6 of Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman (Brew House Comics editions, 2012-2014)

I gave it 3 1/2 stars, although at current I don’t have plans to buy the later material in the series.

The idea was quite good, if — of course — pretty far out there. Bigfoot somehow gets transported to an ancient Mars and becomes a hero. The art was good as well, although I’m not completely familiar with the comic reading process so I couldn’t always tell what was going on from the art. Maybe readers more familiar with the art form could.

A page from Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman, issue #4. Art by Andy Taylor and Tamra Bonvillain

The story has a tremendous amount of narration from the point of view of a Martian character who follows Bigfoot through the tale and relates the events, but he’s pretty clearly an unreliable narrator, which makes it difficult to know what is really happening. Bigfoot doesn’t talk at all, which was fine for a while but began to get a little old as the tale continued.

The book is called Sword of the Earthman, that being Bigfoot, but there’s very little sword slinging action through most of the book. Only in the last chapter do we really see Bigfoot cut lose and there is a lot of action. I was prepared to go with 3 stars until that ending chapter, which had much less narration and much more action, and some pretty good emotional moments as well as a surprise ending. If more of the book had been like that last chapter I’d have ranked it higher.

Charles Gramlich administers The Swords & Planet League group on Facebook, where this post first appeared. His last article for us was a a review of the 1994 horror anthology Young Blood. See all of his recent posts for Black Gate here.

As a Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, the first book in a trilogy set in an alternate historical version of our world with dragons, was one of my favorite books published in 2023. Since I wanted to refresh my memory before reading To Ride a Rising Storm, the second book in the Nampeshiweisit trilogy that was released earlier this year, I decided to reread it and write a lengthier review […]

The post Review of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose first appeared on Fantasy Cafe.

I overslept, and my day started with an outraged cat.

Over the past few days, a road crew has been working on the street next to our house. They are repaving it. The road is closed, and Gordon observed the workers having heated words with a driver of a delivery truck this morning. We might be trapped today.

Because of the road crew, we are keeping Tuna inside. Tuna started life as a stray who wandered randomly around an apartment complex, and breaking him of wanting to go outside is impossible. He has two acres here, and he is very much the lord of his domain. Today His Majesty was refused access to the outside. The inability to inspect his lands didn’t sit well, so he made himself into a nuisance.

Tuna: Pet me! Pet me! Pet me! Look, I meow by the door. Open door. OPEN DOOR.

Me, trying to clean up: No.

The allergies have been terrible, and neither of us is sleeping that well. I was shopping for some Halls cough drops and saw that instead of puny bags, they now come in full scale large jars. Of course, I bought a jar. It was delivered yesterday with saline spray and Flonase, and being too tired, I plopped all of that on my writing tray in the office. I need the tray to write.

Me, gathering items to take to the medicine cabinet.

Tuna: TREATS.

Me: No, you fool. These are not Temptation treats.

Tuna: TREATS.

Me: It’s cough drops!

Tuna: If not treats, why treat shaped? TREATS.

Tuna Vision

I gave him treats. The vet will fuss at me again over his weight, but there are limits to human patience.

I come to you with a mission this morning. The book is now 185K. It is very clear that there is no room left for anything else in our lives. I still have not unpacked. Or sent things out. Mod R will have strong words with me here soon if I keep failing.

We need assistance, or we will never get the shop back off the ground, and our time is better spent writing. To that end, we hired a designer to help us turn the treasure trove of art into merch. Here is some of her work.

These bookmarks will be included in the media package. We have secured a printer for the vellum, so we will be bringing to you a media pack with vellum, stickers, and bookmarks.

Do you have any favorite quotes or moments you want reflected in This Kingdom merch? Please leave us a comment below. If you are dying for something from the other series, you can throw it in there too, but we are focusing on This Kingdom as it is the latest release.

The comment section to this post contains SPOILERS. Read at your own risk.

The post Cats and Bookmarks first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

This post is a chapter from my book, The Write Attitude, which is now in a second edition. I’m posting it here to entice you to head over to Storybundle  to pick up a copy, along with ebooks by Darcy Pattison, Douglas Smith, Ron Collins, Tracy Cooper-Posey and others.

Everything in this Storybundle is exclusive, including The Write Attitude. So if you want to read it now, pick it up from Storybundle. The bundle will end in 9 days, so hurry on over. If you don’t want a deal on the ebook or if you only read print, then you can always preorder the book on various retailer sites starting next month. The new edition will release in July.

The second edition of The Write Attitude is quite different from the first edition, which originally appeared in 2016. I kept some parts of the original book, but much of the material is newer. The new material comes from my Patreon page. Not every post from my Patreon page shows up here, although several do. If you want to see everything, though, head to Patreon and sign up. 

This post appeared on my Patreon page in November of 2025, and is one of the early chapters in the book.

SOUNDING LIKE YOURSELF

From 2025

In a Billboard article about Addison Rae, I came across a useful Miles Davis quote. (Billboard, August 13, 2025.) She cited the quote this way:

Sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.

Wow. That hit home. But before I used it to base a blog post on, I looked it up. I was worried that it really wasn’t a Miles Davis quote or that it was a misquote (although it didn’t sound like one). What I found was that there are two versions of this quote, which leads me to believe that the jazz great remarked on this a lot.

The other version of the quote says:

Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.

And I think I like that one better, although both quotes are useful. For those of you who don’t know who Miles Davis was, he was one of the most influential musicians of the mid-twentieth century. He is definitely one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time.

If you are not familiar with him or his work, start at his website, milesdavis.com, and scan outward. You are probably familiar with a lot of his music, particularly if you’re a jazz fan.

The reason I like both quotes is that they have at least two different meanings, three if you think of them from the point of view of a prose writer.

The first quote: It takes a long time to sound like yourself.

That’s all about voice. Yes, Miles Davis, Addison Rae, and vocal coach Eric Vetro (who first showed Rae the quote) were talking about a musical voice—about sounding like no one else by channeling your own inner vision.

Which is what the best writers do. (That’s why the worst copy editors aren’t the ones who introduce mistakes; they’re the ones who put some writer’s manuscript into “perfect” grammar, ruining their voice.) If you listen to Stephen King reading his own work, his inflections and pauses are not surprising because he knows how to write them into the prose. (His accent or the tone of his voice might surprise you, but nothing more than that.)

Stephen King, former English teacher, found his own voice as a young boy and then learned how to transmit that voice, via the tool of a manuscript, into the brain of a reader. What he does is an extremely difficult skill, and one I aspire to. That’s why I typed Mick Herron’s work into my computer a while back (see the previous chapter), so that I could learn how someone else did things.

The more tools you have in the toolbox, the better writer you will be.

If you don’t read much fiction or you don’t read much fiction anymore, as so many writers say, then you’ve stopped accumulating tools. As long as I breathe, I will be reading. And the fascinating part to me is that I see writers do things that I thought were impossible or things I’ve never thought of. Or, Mick Herron’s case, he does things that someone, somewhere, decades ago, had warned me away from. (The opening to each Slough House book is an astonishing exercise in setting the stage as well as the characters and the themes of each book.)

Here’s the tough part. Once you sound like yourself, your writing will seem bland to you. Because you live with that voice in your head each and every day.

So that’s the voice part.

That’s the first part of sounding like yourself.

The second part is this: You must defend your voice, your “sound.” Sure, it might be “wrong” to use a dozen semi-colons in a single paragraph, but Herron does it to such great effect (sometimes in a single sentence) that the reader doesn’t notice them.

I didn’t realize the man uses a million semi-colons until I typed in his work. I’m semi-colon lite, dash heavy, which, I thought, made me a much more breathless writer than he is, but his work continually proves me wrong.

I’m sure some silly copy editor somewhere tried, once upon a time, to edit out all of his semi-colons and to make his honkin’ long single-sentence paragraphs into many sentences, and from what I can tell, the man slapped them down.

There’s another component to voice, though, and it has nothing to do with words and grammar and punctuation. It’s subject matter. It’s characterization. It’s something I discussed after the Herron piece. It’s the ability to “go there,” wherever there is. (See chapter 10.) To write the stuff that frightens us, that makes us original, that might get us in trouble with the readers or in some cases, the government.

It’s the stuff that doesn’t fall into genre lines.

I was having a discussion a few weeks back with someone I was considering working with on a future project. That person insisted we use trope charts, like so many writers have started to do in Kickstarters.

Tropes are well and good, if used sparingly. As a romance reader, I want to see—either from the sales copy or from a trope listing—that the book in my hand uses the enemies-to-lovers trope or is a small-town romance. I want to avoid a guardian-ward historical trope because…yucky!

So a one-line description or acknowledgement of the trope is a good thing, especially in books where the ending is prescribed, like a romance (happily ever after) or a cozy mystery (amateur solves a stakes-free murder).

But other than that—a tropes chart? You might as well put two gigantic signs on your work. The first sign says, Read something else because this book is on rails. The second sign says, This book is mediocre. There are no surprises here. There’s a third sign, but only if someone dares to crack open a book based on a tropes chart. And that sign says This writer has no idea what tropes are. The ones listed here are not in the book.

Whoops.

Writers who sound like themselves can’t write books that can be boiled down into a tropes chart. Sure, the overall trope might work because that might form the heart of the book. (I’m thinking of enemies to lovers here in a romance trope.) But going beyond that would harm the reading experience if the writer is writing from their heart.

That’s why writers who are really good at sounding like themselves often have trouble selling their fiction to set markets, particularly traditional markets. Those markets want something they can sell, and a book that’s on rails is easier to market to a consumer than a book that is, at its core, like nothing a reader has ever seen before.

That’s why this quote comes from Miles Davis. His website has this sentence on the home page:

Miles Davis made music that grew from an uncanny talent to hear the future and a headstrong desire to play it.

Note the phrases here. “Uncanny talent.” In other words, he did things no one else dared. “Hear the future.” I might disagree with that one on some level, because on that level, Davis invented the future that his website claimed he heard. And, the most important phrase, “a headstrong desire to play it.”

Later this little biographical snippet points out that Davis never stopped fighting for his art. That’s my memory of him. He wasn’t as respected in his lifetime as he became later, even though no one dared argue with the impact he was having. I worked in listener-sponsored radio in Wisconsin and was immersed in jazz. We could play all kinds of jazz for our listeners and they supported the programming with their dollars.

The other local jazz station was much more conservative. They played traditional melodic jazz, things we call standards now, and would go to modern jazz after 10 p.m. when most Midwesterners went to bed. Even then, you wouldn’t find a lot of Miles Davis on that station. The powers that be loathed his work.

I think that’s the other side of this. You have to become good enough to force people to have opinions about your work. “Having opinions” means they’ll love it or they’ll hate it. What is most important, though, is that they won’t forget it.

These mediocre, “properly written” works? The ones with the voice edited out of them, with the vision troped to death? Those will be forgotten the moment that the reader closes the book.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever want to be accused of being mediocre. Love or hate my work, that’s up to the reader. But finding it dull or predictable…well, then, I’ve done something wrong.

The second quote from Miles Davis is my favorite. I think it might more accurately reflect what he’s getting at, especially if you’re familiar with his music.

Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.

Yeah, I know. He’s talking about playing music, often onstage. He was the master of improvisation, but even in the improvisation, the listener knew they were listening to Miles Davis. His perspective was that original.

But what I love here is the word “play.” I love watching jazz musicians in particular improvise. Somewhere in the middle of what they’re doing, they’ll grin at each other. They’re having fun. They’re creating something new, something unexpected, and it gives them joy.

This type of musicianship is why I don’t miss a Keith Urban residency when he’s in Las Vegas. He performs intensely and playfully, goofing around much more than other residency performers I’ve seen. I wasn’t a big fan (or much of a fan at all) when I first saw him perform, and now I go to watch the playful musicianship.

Writers need to play as well. We need to experiment. We need to risk failure. We need to jangle some chords, try a different instrument, and go far, far, far off the beaten path.

That means we’ll miss sometimes, but it also means that when we hit, the work will be powerful.

When I talk about play, I’m not saying that writers should only write something light and “fun.” Instead, I’m talking about experimentation, about risking everything, about free-floating ideas from our own subconscious even if those ideas make us feel uncomfortable.

We should also go for different formats and different genres, different lengths and different ideas than we’ve explored before. We might not be onstage riffing with our friends, but we should write in that same spirit of improvisational play.

We need to be uniquely ourselves as writers. And as Miles Davis said (and yes, he wrote his own stuff), it takes a long time to achieve that.

But finding yourself as a writer? That’s worth the time spent.

“Sounding Like Yourself” from The Write Attitude

Copyright © Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Published by WMG Publishing

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This ebook, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Any use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies is expressly prohibited. The author and publisher reserve all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

 

Check out this all new Dresden Files Novella today!

Alex, our darling older daughter, would have turned 31 today. This is our third year without her, and often the grief feels as fresh as it did the day we lost her. At other times, though — and this is, of course, a sign of healing, of acceptance — the pain recedes and we are left with wonderful memories that warm us and offer solace.

Today, I find myself thinking back to her twenty-third birthday. She had recently graduated from NYU and was building a life for herself in Brooklyn, surrounded by friends, totally acclimated to city life. Her college years had not been easy on our relationship. Throughout her first eighteen years, she and I had been remarkably close, and it was only natural that as she moved on to college and her adult life, she would need to distance herself some from Nancy and me both. Nancy handled that better than I did (no surprise there) and I was, at times, more controlling and overbearing than I should have been.

But in the winter of 2018, soon after New Year’s, Alex approached me about taking a trip together, just the two of us. I was touched, delighted, thrilled, and of course I leapt at the opportunity. We wound up deciding on a trip to the Escalante Wilderness in Utah that would correspond with her birthday. We started the trip in Kodachrome Basin State Park, spent a couple of gorgeous days in Bryce Canyon National Park, and then went to Petrified Forest State Park, before flying to our separate homes. A week together in some of the most spectacular scenery either of us had ever seen.

We spent Alex’s birthday in several spots. We got up early to hike Calf Creek Falls trail, through beautiful desert scrub amid dramatic stone cliffs. The falls themselves, a cascading white ribbon falling against mineral-stained stone walls, were amazing. From there, we went down a dirt road — Burr Trail — that was filled with small slot canyons to explore. And we finished the day in an area called the Devil’s Garden, a collection of stunning rock formations about 25 miles down another bumpy track called Hole in the Rock Road. We finished the day with instant pad Thai at our campsite, and a magnificent night sky.

The next day, we packed up and headed to Vegas for a sushi dinner and flights the following morning.

Our week together meant the world to me. I wasn’t sure if Alex felt the same way, but we certainly had tons of fun and got along beautifully. I don’t remember specific conversations, but in a way I think that speaks to the naturalness of our interactions, the ease of our time together. And years later, when we were in Brooklyn with her during her final weeks, I saw that she had the hiking map from Calf Creek Falls on the wall beside her bed, and the rock we had found for her at a rock shop outside of Bryce, sitting on a shelf above her pillow.

Small gifts that made clear to me that she valued the memories of that journey together as much as I did.

I would give anything to travel with her again, to hike with her again, to hear her laughter, to see her light up at the mention of some new music she’d discovered or the latest novel she’d read. I miss her all the time, every day.

But the memories help. I still have that trail map, as well as that little polished stone. I still have literally hundreds of photos that I snapped during our week together. We were both obsessed with capturing images of the scenery around us. Now, I wish I’d taken more photos of Alex and fewer of the Escalante. But that’s a small matter.

Happy birthday, Sweetie. Thank you for that wondrous week, and all the other incredible times we shared. We love you to the moon and back.

Here are this week’s 7 Author Shoutouts. Find your favorite author or discover an author…

The post 7 Author Shoutouts | Authors We Love To Recommend appeared first on LitStack.

 

Do You Ship It?by Beth Reekles
What is it about:When Cerys’ secret crush Jake moves to a new college, she realises she’s running out of time to take their relationship from platonic to romantic. She’ll do anything to get out of Jake’s friendzone, even if that means finally diving into the huge fantasy fandom he loves so much. Though she absolutely can’t see the appeal in Of Wrath and Rune, if Jake loves it, then Cerys will too.
But when Jake introduces Cerys to his shiny new friend Max, who goes to all the fandom conventions (and loves a costume or three), Cerys realises she’ll need to do a lot more to grab Jake’s attention than just read a few fanfics.
Can Cerys convince Jake they should become the new couple to ship? Or will he see straight through her cosplay?
What did I think of it:This was a fun read!
For me as a reader there were a lot of things I could see coming, but that's what makes books like this fun: the clear hints of what's going on, and guessing when Cerys will come to certain realizations. 
I really liked Cerys and rooted for her to overcome the many struggles she faces with both her friendship with Jake, and with school friendships. This book is as much about finding yourself and being brave enough to not give in to peer pressure as it is about Cerys trying to get Jake to notice her.
All in all a very enjoyable read.
Why should you read it:It's a fun Contemporary YA read.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 139 pages
Publisher: Tordotcom
Release Date: May 5, 2026
ASIN: B0FMSCH3V2
Stand Alone or Series: 7th book in The Singing Hills Cycle
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 stars

“On the banks of the Ya-lé River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midst―lazy, violent, unwanted―while the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved.

Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A cleric’s job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 7th book in The Singing Hills Cycle. I got a copy of this on ebook for review from NetGalley.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this volume in The Singing Hills Cycle a lot more than the sixth book in this series. I continue to love the theme of the value of stories and a clerical order that makes it their mission to make sure stories are told and recorded.

In this volume, Cleric Chih (no longer a novice but out on their own) journeys to the town of Luntien where they find themselves waiting tables while they await their next disbursement of money (after they were unfortunately robbed). While this is in progress, they stumble upon a mystery that may link back to their own history and also try to help with an influx of refugees. Of course, the whole time they are determined to record the stories of, not only the village, but of the refugees who seek shelter there.

I really continue to enjoy this book series about the importance of story. Chih has grown throughout their travels, and it was fun to see them on their first solo mission as a full cleric. I think everyone can relate to Chih’s internal struggles. As they take on this new responsibility, Chih wonders if they are good enough to be a full cleric and if they are helping things or just making them worse.

We meet some entertaining new characters in this town. Of course, I continue to enjoy Almost Brilliant and her cutting humor and remarks. Almost Brilliant and Chih work together beautifully.

This book was very engaging, well done, and a breath of fresh air after the last couple of mediocre books I have read.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this next volume in The Singing Hills Cycle. The stories behind the town are intriguing. I enjoyed watching Chih strike out on their own as a cleric and watching them work through the types of feelings and concerns you have when you strike out on your own in your field. I also enjoyed learning more about both Chih’s history and about the history behind The Singing Hills clerics. The discussion around refugees and their struggles was thoughtfully done as well. If you are a fan of this series, I think you will love this book. If you enjoy stories about the importance of stories, I think you will enjoy this whole series.

Archangel's Eternity Published by Penguin Group on May 5, 2026

Elena and Raphael return for the hauntingly poignant conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s genre-defining Guild Hunter series.

A thousand years.

It’s been a millennium since Elena’s fateful first meeting with Archangel Raphael. She has survived war and loss, experienced beauty and cruelty. But no matter what, she has always held on to her mortal heart, as she and Raphael have held on to each other. Passionate and vibrant, they’ve built a life that has stood the test of time, growing ever stronger with each turn of the sun.

But change is coming—of a magnitude they could have never imagined—and it will forever alter the trajectory of their existence.

Even as they grapple with the cataclysmic shift in their personal lives, the Cadre of Ten, which has maintained a hard-won peace for centuries, begins to simmer with dangerous fault lines. The specter of madness looms in one archangel, the promise of war burns between two others, and in darkness far from mortal and immortal eyes stirs an ancient, slumbering power.

Suddenly, the future is terrifyingly uncertain . . . at the very moment that Elena and her archangel need to protect a treasure infinitely more precious than eternity.

Pages: 448 GoodreadsGenres: Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Fantasy / Urban, Fiction / Romance / Paranormal / Vampires
Format: eARC, eBook ISBN: 9780593550052
By: Nalini Singh
Source: NetGalleyAlso by this author: Shards of Hope, Archangel's Shadows (Guild Hunter, #7), Archangel's Enigma (Guild Hunter, #8), Rock Redemption, Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling, #15), Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss, #4), Secrets at Midnight (Psy-Changeling #12.5)

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This final chapter of the Guild Hunter series answers long-standing questions—and a few you didn’t even realize you had. It takes readers on an emotional roller coaster, bringing the journey to a powerful close. Even so, there’s hope we might return to this world someday, perhaps through future novellas that let us check in on these beloved characters.

Robin Hood (Universal Pictures, 2010) Robin Hood (Unrated Director’s Cut) (156 minutes; 2010)

Written by Brian Helgeland. Directed by Ridley Scott.

What is it?

What it is, is a criminally underrated film.

Maybe it would’ve been more successful if they had titled it Robin Hood Begins.

Another option, though it probably wouldn’t have helped at the box office, is Kingdom of Heaven II.

Because it is both of those things, and more.

Robin in action

It’s a backdoor sequel to Kingdom of Heaven. That movie ended with Richard the Lionheart stopping by Orlando Bloom’s village in France, on his way to Crusade in the Holy Land. This film begins with Richard on his way back home.

And it maintains the primary theme of that film, which is that what makes a man a man is not what organization he is affiliated with or what title he bears, but what he chooses to do every day.

It’s also an origin story for Robin Hood. Essentially, it’s a prequel to every other Robin Hood movie. It begins with him serving in Richard’s army, and follows him right up to the very moment he’s declared an outlaw by King John.

Cate Blanchett as Marion Loxley

The cast is spectacularly good. Mark Strong is ideal for a medieval English villain. Galadriel is a beautiful Maid Marian who is also strong and smart and tough. Lea Seydoux, of the last two James Bond films, is a radiant French princess. Oscar Isaac is always good in everything but is enjoyably evil here as Prince John. The main Merry Men are cool but never get anywhere near enough to do. A young Matthew McFadyen makes a fine, evil sheriff of Nottingham – though he, too, barely appears in the film.

William Hurt plays a completely useless character who takes up precious run time that could’ve been given to Little John or the Sheriff. He spends a lot of time looking on in disappointment at Prince John’s missteps, but does nothing.

Russell Crowe in Robin Hood

Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood here is hard as nails, incredibly competent and confident, a natural leader and a charismatic force.

I love that this version of Robin Hood is an impostor. He’s not Robin of Loxley. He’s a guy who finds Robin of Loxley being ambushed in the French forest and takes his place. And his identity.

Mark Strong as Sir Godfrey

Yes, Robin of Loxley becomes the first victim of identity theft.

It’s a fine movie overall, as long as you understand what you’re getting and what you’re not getting. There should’ve been a sequel that actually showed the adventures of Robin Hood and the Merry Men now that they’re established as outlaws. One was planned, anyway, but never filmed. Lacking that, the film fails to deliver what audiences could reasonably expect. In addition, the ending is something of a downer, though it does leave the door wide open for further adventures by Robin Hood, as well as establishing a need for those adventures to happen.

Kevin Durand as Little John in Robin Hood Noteworthy

This movie did not do well among critics or at the box office.

It brought in just under $322 million worldwide – not a disaster, but not a big hit, either.

Its Rotten Tomatoes score is just 43%. Critics praised its production values and acting, but simply didn’t find it very much fun.

Ridley Scott directs Robin Hood

A good comparison might be found in the Western genre, and particularly in Wyatt Earp movies. Tombstone is bold and colorful and fun, while Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp is probably more true to actual history, but is also more somber, serious and flat.

Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood has more in common with Costner’s Earp movie than with Tombstone.

I suspect audiences were disappointed because they expected some version of Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves movie (1991), which was silly and cartoonish but also more fun.

Errol Flynn’s The Adventures of Robin Hood (Warner Bros. Pictures, May 14, 1938)

Or perhaps Errol Flynn’s The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) raised the bar (and set audience expectations) too high, decades ago.

If you’re looking for Robin and his Merry Men chasing the Sheriff of Nottingham through Sherwood Forest while robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, well, I have to tell you – this is not that movie. Not at all.

This is a movie about commoners with uncommon valor rising up and taking the place of noblemen at first by pretending to be them, and then through their deeds and their actions.

Robin and his Merry Men

And it’s about one extremely arrogant and stubborn jerk who happens to inherit the crown of England.

In 2026, Russell Crowe noted that the original plan was to make three films, continuing into the better-known Robin Hood material. Unfortunately, this one didn’t meet the financial number necessary to trigger the sequels.

Russell Crowe in Robin Hood Quick and Dirty Summary

Russell Crowe and his pals are archers fighting their way across France alongside King Richard the Lionheart, on their way back to England from the Crusades.

Crowe and Company get fed up with Richard’s vanity and his endless battles. They decide to desert and go home. At the same moment, Richard is killed in battle.

When Robin of Loxley is killed in an ambush while trying to bring Richard’s crown home, Crowe and his men take up the task, impersonating noblemen in the process.

Robin and Marion

Once back in England, they get caught up in the brewing civil war surrounding Prince John. Meanwhile, Crowe’s character, pretending to be Robin, meets and becomes involved with Maid Marian.

There are also a number of very good moments in which the scenery-chewing Oscar Isaac preens about while ignoring his wife and mother and sleeping with a beautiful French princess (Seydoux).

Léa Seydoux and Oscar Isaac in Robin Hood

This all sounds very Robin Hood-ish. But then we are served up an entirely separate plot involving Sir Godfrey (Strong), a traitor who’s helping the French king invade England.

Eventually Crowe’s character – I honestly don’t know what to call him; he’s not really Robin of Loxley and he’s not “Robin Hood” yet, instead going by “Robin Longstride” — reconciles with King John long enough to repulse the French invasion. But John being John, the situation reverts quickly afterward. The movie ends right where we expect the Robin Hood story to begin. Indeed, the last words we see on the screen before the credits roll are, “And so the legend begins.”

Russell Crowe in Robin Hood Fantasy/SF/Sword & Sorcery Elements

As one might expect, the weapons that feature in this film are bows and arrows.

A crossbow bolt through the neck kills Richard in much the same way it killed the big German Crusader early in Kingdom of Heaven.

Robin Whateverhisnameis gets a few opportunities to show off his archery skills – but not many. Not nearly enough for a film about allegedly one of the greatest archers to ever string a bow.

Robin and his bow High Point

The best portion of the film is probably when Robin decides to impersonate the slain Loxley. Suddenly he and the handful of Merry-Men-to-be traveling with him morph into “heist film” characters. Robin’s Eleven.

And speaking of stealing, of course Isaac as the deluded King John steals every scene he’s in, often just with his facial expressions.

Max von Sydow as Sir Walter Loxley Low Point

There’s a long segment in the middle of the film where Robin and company have settled into Marian’s farm, and then not a lot happens that’s very exciting. We do get some fun appearances here by the great Max von Sydow as Sir Walter Loxley, the father of the man Crowe is impersonating. What’s a Medieval action film without von Sydow??

But beyond him, it’s a pretty dry middle of the movie, and it’s easy for audiences to tune out during this section.

Oscar Isaac as the ridiculously evil Prince John Standout Performance

There are several good performances, but I’d argue that Oscar Isaac as the ridiculously evil and treacherous Prince/King John takes the cake. He’s the “Hans Gruber” of this movie. Yippee-ki-yay, Robin Hooder!

Matthew Macfadyen as the Sheriff of Nottingham Overall Evaluation as a Movie and as Fantasy/SF/Sword & Sorcery

It’s not precisely a Sword & Sorcery movie per se, but it is S&S-adjacent, featuring a mythical main character who is essentially a Fantasy hero.

It’s a very creditable unofficial sequel to Kingdom of Heaven, by the same director and featuring some of the same supporting actors.

And while it has its slow sections and doesn’t really give us the Robin Hood we probably went into it looking for, it does give us a very fine Medieval warfare and intrigue movie, as well as the prequel to the actual Robin Hood story we never knew we needed.

Put that in yer Magna Carta, ya bastards!

Van Allen Plexico once edited an anthology of tales set in a Thundarr-style post-apocalyptic future of super-science and sorcery, called Blackthorne: Thunder on Mars. He is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a Grand Master of Pulp Literature (2025 class) and a multiple-award-winning author of more than two dozen novels and anthologies, ranging from space opera to Kaiju to crime fiction to superheroes to military SF. Find his works on Amazon and at www dot Plexico dot net.

I’ve been doing a lot of experimentation with short video. Sometimes I add audio, but every now and then I do something that’s imagery and text. I’ve done that here, with the video I did for Dean Wesley Smith’s current Kickstarter campaign.  There was simply too much information to cram into a talky video, so I didn’t. I let images do the work.

If you like what you see here, head over to the campaign. You’ll find it here.

You know what? Even if you don’t like the video, head over to the campaign. There’s lots to love in it.

Enjoy!

https://kriswrites.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Five-Science-Fiction-Collections-high-quality.mp4

I did not get much sleep last night. I am relying on tea and sheer will, so let’s hope I make sense. We have an art print roundup for you this morning, with several options from the artists who worked on This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me.

A note about shipping: a lot of the artists we work with are outside the US. The shipping costs have risen sharply, in large part due to the tariffs. If you want a signed print and you are in the US, you might have to pay more.

Because of this, all of the artists on this list offer INPRNT art. These prints are not signed museum quality but are still beautiful. They are more reasonably priced and have US domestic shipping rates.

So: INPRNT = unsigned print, local shipping for US.

Luisa Preissler

Fine art prints and collectible character cards featuring illustrations by Luisa Preissler, created for the world of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews.

The prints are museum-quality giclée prints. Each one is hand-signed by the artist and available exclusively during a limited pre-order window.

Also available is a set of collectible character cards featuring Maggie & Everard, finished with gold details. The cards include foil stamping on both sides and rounded corners — designed to be displayed rather than stored away.

Pre-order period: May 1st – May 15th, 2026 (closes 8 PM CEST / Berlin time). All items are produced after the pre-order closes and are expected to begin shipping May 29th.

You can shop the signed fine art prints and character cards here:
https://luisapreissler.de/collections/all

Please note for US customers: due to current customs regulations, shipping is only available via DHL Express, which is significantly more expensive, and import duties may apply on arrival.

For a more budget-friendly option, the unsigned prints are available via INPRNT:
https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/luisapreissler/. This option does not include the custom character cards, however.

Helena Elias

Helena’s shop offers high quality collector prints in two sizes. They are giclée printing quality on matte museum paper.

She is located in Australia, so all prices are in Australian dollars (AUD); however, the prints are fulfilled through an international distributor. So while you are paying in AUD, your shipping will be domestic if you are in US and you won’t have to wait for your prints to clear customs.

Candice Slater

Candice Slater offers the landmarks of Kair Toren and Inheritance art through INPRNT.

The prints are unsigned, with domestic US shipping, and some are also available as posters, minis, framed prints, and stickers.

Leesha Hannigan

Leesha also offers art prints through INPRNT. While I do not see Sushi there right now, I am pretty sure she was going to add her. However, you can shop all of the other amazing art she has. The doggie. Look at the doggie!

Don’t forget to enter the vellum giveaway by signing up for our newsletter.

A reminder that our Merch Store will not offer art prints. We are doing vellum hardback inserts and the usual merch items like T-shirts, cups etc. If you want art prints, please order directly from the artists.

PS Mod R:

Ilona wrote this blog post for us, but she has a lot on her plate, so I’ve set myself as the author to ensure the comments come only to me and don’t flood her inbox. There is no deep conspiracy here, I’m certain we would all prefer House Andrews to focus on what they do best!

The post Art Print Roundup first appeared on ILONA ANDREWS.

Thanks for the article! It made the image of Stephen becoming a Sigl manufactor, similar to a jewelry designer, pop up in my head. It would be interesting to see Stephen develop more in that area, especially now that he hopefully will get more access to information, what with his position as a liaison.

Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cameron Johnston is a Scottish writer of fantasy and lives in the city of Glasgow in Scotland. He is a member of the Glasgow Science Fiction Writers' Circle, loves archaeology and mythology, enjoys exploring ancient sites and camping out under the stars.

Publisher: Angry Robot (April 14, 2026) Page count: 328 pages Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback

There are many ways to start a fantasy novel. A prophecy. A battle. A mysterious stranger in a tavern.

First Mage on the Moon starts with a hanging. 

From there, the book rewinds to show readers how did a bunch of overworked, underpaid mages end up committing what is apparently the greatest heresy imaginable - touching the moon?
The answer, as it turns out, involves paperwork, bad management decisions, and one very unfortunate lightning strike.
Ella Pickering is tired and stuck in a system that chews people up. She's basically trying to get through the day without losing more than she already has. Her sections revolve around the repetitive work, the debt, the physical strain. And perhaps the author is trying too much to make the point. There’s a stretch in the middle where you’ve fully grasped how miserable and repetitive her job is and then you keep watching it happen anyway. It felt overextended to me.
Whitlaw Goddard is another highlight. He has spent years doing things properly and has finally decided to do something wildly improper instead. Which, in this world, means trying to advance knowledge without asking permission. His arc is excellent. You know where it’s going, but it still lands.
The setting is industrial, and often unpleasant. Things are built, tested, broken, and occasionally launched into the sky by accident. The "moon project" itself is handled like engineering. There are calculations, adjustments, and a lot of trial and error. It’s refreshing, even if it sometimes slows the story down.
There are downsides, too. The antagonists (priests, hierarchs, powerful figures in general) are clear enough, but they don’t evolve much. They exist to block progress, and they do that job efficiently. You just don’t get much beyond that.
And while the ideas are strong, the pacing isn’t always helping them. Some sections feel tight and engaging; others move way too slowly. 
The ending is exactly what the book promises from the start. No last-minute twists. No clever escapes.The characters pay the price for what they chose to do. Of course, there's more to it, but you'll have to learn it on your own.
In the end, First Mage on the Moon is a good idea told well,  just not always tightly. There’s a lot here to like: the grounded approach to magic, the working-class perspective, the central concept itself. But it doesn’t quite hit as hard as it could have with sharper pacing and a bit more depth on the opposing side.